Slimming World™ provides a successful weight-loss service that supports multiple users in losing weight via face-to-face, in person meetings and via a healthy eating plan called Food Optimising™.
While such face-to-face, in person meetings are effective they are not always attractive to users because of accessibility issues, including travel time to meetings and/or because some users are uncomfortable having face-to-face, in person meetings/discussions concerning personal matters.
The face to face, in person meetings are hosted by a Slimming World highly trained Consultant who facilitates the discussion. The physical proximity of the users and Consultant creates verbal and non-verbal cues that help the Consultant manage the meeting and facilitate tailored support, motivation and commitment for the week ahead for each person present. Such cues may be absent, without careful design, in telecommunications.
There are significant technical difficulties in creating a man machine interface and process flow that capture aspects of a face-to-face, in person Consultant-led meeting over a remote communications network within the bandwidth and hardware constraints of typical user equipment.